Scott M. Graham's Online Review Report Card

My mother was a patient of Dr. Graham’s for many years. When my mother passed away, I tried contacting Dr. Graham’s office to let them know. After going through approximately 20 prompts, I had to leave a message. I explained in the message I was calling to notify them of the death of one of Dr. Graham’s patients. Finally after receiving no call back for 5 days, I went to the office to tell them in person. I am so disappointed by the lack of compassion. Being a nurse myself in another state, I was never pleased with the stories my mom would tell me about not being able to get in touch with her doctor or taking such a long time to get a call back. I do not think my mother received quality medical care by Dr. Graham, and most definitely did not receive the compassionate care she deserved.

If I didn’t have to select one star, I wouldn’t have. This guy saw my grandfather once while he was in rehab for 4 weeks. Suggested an end of life plan a.k.a hospice. Just looked at his charts from the hospital. ONCE. Luckily we got a second opinion on the mass on his lung. Treatable with radiation. He treated him like just a number. An old guy. I am a strong believer in if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all. But this guy is not thorough and very hard to get a hold of. Doesn’t return phone calls when he says. Would not trust his opinion

Wendy Treash is the best!

Dear Dr. Graham, Choosing you as my doctor on May 19, 2020 for a really basic knee injury was the worst decision I've ever made in my life. You've probably forgotten about me by now, but please know that I still suffer every hour of every single day that goes by. There isn't one day that isn't miserable for me. You haven't heard from me since I hand delivered my nine-page letter to you on July 8, 2020, that detailed every visit, phone call, etc. with you. It detailed me coming back to see you, and calling, INSISTING that I had a meniscus tear, telling you that my knee was buckling and that my pain was intolerable. But you kept telling me that it was only arthritis, even though you said I had no arthritis during our first visit after looking at my x-rays.  I will never forget when I came back to see you on June 2. My knee was the size of a tree trunk and I couldn't bend it. My pain was unbearable and no amount of Advil and/or Tylenol would help. I was in tears, telling you that I knew something was wrong, that this wasn't arthritis like you'd said. I was desperate Dr. Graham. And you were in a rush. You left and came back into the room twice. I asked you really really nicely to please read my MRI results in front of me. I asked because I had gone onto the Patient Portal myself before the appointment, because I KNEW something HAD to be wrong, or missed. And I was pretty sure I'd found it. You agreed to go over the results with me, and read through it - then paused when you got to the part that said "DEVELOPING horizontal cleavage plane tear... lateral meniscus".  Why did you pause like that? Then you told me that MRIs were like art and that everyone interpreted them differently.  I was like "?????" then you said strongly "YOU DO NOT HAVE A MENISCUS TEAR." It sure seemed like you were definitely getting tired of me insisting that I did. You told me "You have arthritis.  Deal with it the same way everyone with arthritis deals with it." I was broken. And I KNEW you HAD to be wrong. So I found another doctor. And you were wrong. The MRI was right. It wasn't art. But by the time I spent trying to convince you, my doctor, the damage was already done. My meniscus was obliterated. Literally torn to pieces, from the root. I'm going to attach surgery photos for you. There were pieces on both sides of my knee. Even some completely outside of my knee visible and palpable under my skin. That's why it hurt so much. That's why I couldn't walk without my knee buckling. That's why I kept coming back.  Why didn't you listen to me? How could you have missed this?  I chose you because you're a "Knee Specialist", Board Certified in Orthopaedic Surgery AND Orthopedic Sports Medicine. Your website boasts all sorts of other "Top Doctor" awards. How/why did you miss this?This was fixable. I was DEVELOPING a tear. That was fixable. Now my meniscus is COMPLETELY GONE. I had to have a meniscectomy on July 1. Thank God I found the other doctor who knew what was wrong the minute he saw my x-ray. He couldn't BELIEVE you'd missed it. I won't say any more than that. Now I need a partial knee replacement. My life is miserable, like I said above. Every hour of every day. It DIDN'T have to be this way. I can't walk without a painful limp, I can't even walk a decent distance without being in so much pain that I can't even walk anymore. Christmas shopping with my kids at Irvine Spectrum? Not possible. I can't walk that far. Because of you. I live in two story home. I'm in pain EVERY SINGLE STEP - EVERY SINGLE TIME I go up my stairs. Every single time I come down, I have to put both feet on each step because I can't bend my knee without terrible pain. I can't get up from the toilet without holding onto the wall. I can't go ANYWHERE where I need to walk. Even a lengthy trip to Target is too much. Because of you. MY POOR FAMILY. Everything I can't do anymore, THEY have to do. My knee buckles and KILLS me all the time. My kids are embarrassed. Why did you do this to me?  This isn't fair.  It's not fair.My story goes on... I just don't have time to keep writing now.  I haven't even started talking about what horrible bedside manner you have and your ego being larger than the size of our state. Pretty ironic given how horrible your care is. I am ruined forever because of you. So is my family. How am I supposed to go on from here? I'm terrified to have a partial knee replacement, as I should be. And it would cost us thousands of dollars. But my life is ruined without one. Ask anyone - I've always been a bouncy, super happy, energetic, fun, active lady, accomplished entrepreneur, volunteer, soccer mom, Girl Scout leader, etc. Now I feel useless. I can't do anything. I'm angry all the time because I'm in pain. I'm frustrated. I'm depressed. I TRUSTED YOU - and begged you over and over to please help me.You never even bothered replying to my letter.

This Dr. exceeded my expectations!! Fantastic job..

I love Dr. Graham. He is attentive, caring and very gentle with my Mother in law. He listens to me as well as to her. Highly recommend him

Dr Graham is awesome! Took care of the pain in my shoulder I had been suffering for weeks. Highest recommendations for Dr.Graham!

On several occasions he has been quite rude, including when my family member passed away. There is no justification for that kind of rudeness under any circumstances, but especially not right after the loss of a loved one. Gail is his office is exceptional though.

Went to see Dr. Graham due to left knee pain and significant swelling that was affecting knee flexion. I understand that doctor's are going to be drawn to diagnoses that are most common for certain clinical presentations (in my case, a meniscus tear would be the most common explanation); however, after getting back the results of an MRI that revealed no connective tissue damage whatsoever, I was disappointed in Dr. Graham's treatment as he recommended to continue taking NSAIDs and did not seem interested in problem solving and finding an explanation for my symptoms (which ultimately were diagnosed by other orthopedic surgeons and medical professionals as a type of auto-immune disorder). I got the distinct impression that since he couldn't perform surgery on me, I was no longer "useful" to him. Additionally, his bedside manner was sub-par compared to other orthopedic surgeons I saw and I felt like a bar code.

I highly recommend Dr. Graham! I took my son to see him for a sports injury and growth plate issue. Dr. Graham is very knowledgeable and very thorough! He answered all our questions and even gave us advice on how to prevent further injuries in the future. I found him very professional, knowledgeable and friendly! He has a pleasant office with a great staff!